Carleton College is the latest liberal art college to introduce an apprenticeship program for its ... [+]
Carleton College, a highly regarded private college in Northfield, Minnesota, is the latest example of a liberal arts college adding technically based apprenticeships to prepare its students and graduates for early-career employment in the business sector.
The new collaboration comes in the form of the Rise apprenticeship program, an initiative designed by Helios Consulting, a St. Paul-based services partner of Workday, the cloud-based financial management, human capital management and student information system platform.
Workday, founded in 2005 by David Duffield, former CEO of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) company PeopleSoft, along with former PeopleSoft chief strategist Aneel Bhusri, is used by more than 10,000 companies worldwide.
“Navigating today’s rapidly evolving and dynamic labor market requires not just the fundamentals of critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration that are the hallmark of a liberal arts education, but also the technical skills that employers need in an increasingly digital economy,” said Rachel Leatham, Associate Director of Carleton’s Career Center. “In partnership with Helios, we’re creating an opportunity for Carleton students to contribute their talents to meaningful work after graduation.”
The new partnership advances the Carleton’s commitment to build new employment opportunities in the Twin Cities region and to help liberal arts students and grads begin their careers in the fast-growing HR tech sector.
The Rise apprenticeship begins with a 12-week remote experience that combines training in technical skills along with learning about basic HR processes. It’s the “kind of last-mile training” that complements “the cognitive ability, critical thinking skills, communication, and problem-solving skills Carleton graduates are famous for,” according to Leatham.
The Carleton seniors and graduates who are selected for the Rise apprenticeship become Helios employees from day one as they receive training, mentorship and support from industry experts. They are then expected to remain with the company for two years, with annual compensation of $60,000 along with benefits. After completing the Rise program, graduates are eligible for available HR tech jobs, including those at Helios’ Fortune 500 clients.
And because Minnesota, like many states, is continuing to struggle with a trained labor shortage, the hope is that more graduating seniors may decide to remain in the state to pursue job opportunities in this field.
Leatham told me she does not know how many students and recent graduates will apply and be accepted for the program. She said that the partnership was developed as an experiment to see whether Carleton could enhance its offerings for graduating seniors by providing a new entry point into tech jobs. Carleton’s current senior class has about 500 students.
“Carleton’s Career Center leadership recognizes the critical importance of bringing together the strong foundation of a liberal arts degree with more specialized training and experience in the most in-demand technology skills,” said Helios President Trevor Lee. “This is about creating strong and vibrant connections between higher education and the workforce, while also helping Carleton fulfill its vital role of preparing students to contribute to and lead tomorrow’s world of work.”
The Rise apprenticeship program has also been added for students and graduates of the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
For their part, students remain most concerned about two practical issues - the cost of college and whether it will prepare them for a good job. Almost two-thirds (65%) of high school seniors believe a college degree is not worth the cost, according to a 2021 survey by New America and Third Way. Apprenticeships, which are also being introduced for liberal arts majors at large universities such as the University of Texas, are increasingly viewed as one way to combat that perception by bringing together a strong core curriculum with career-relevant specialty training.
